Loving Resolution and Forgiveness in Matthew 18

 Loving Resolution and Forgiveness in Matthew 18

The Readings.

The Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity

The Collect

LORD, we beseech thee to keep thy household the Church in continual godliness; that through thy protection it may be free from all adversities, and devoutly given to serve thee in good works, to the glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle

Philippians i. 3.

I THANK my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the tender mercies of Christ Jesus. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

The Gospel

St. Matthew xviii. 21.

PETER said unto Jesus, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellow-servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

Forgiveness ( and sin )are our subject.  I am interested in what the word means in the original language.  Word Origin

from apo-away and hiémi (to send away)

Definition

to send away, leave alone, let go, release, to give up, keep no longer, lay aside

sin= hamartánō) is regularly used in ancient times of an archer missing the target (Homer, Aesch., etc). Every decision (action) done apart from faith (4102 /pístis) is sin (Ro 14:23; cf. Heb 11:6). 

How timely are the Scriptures. They tell us how to deal with conflict resolution or at least how to attempt it. Some are not going to respond. If people who are in the Church do not respond to one on one, more than one, and then the Church , then they are not to be treated as brethren if they were ever such at all. This is simply an acknowledgment that an attempt has been made at restoration and the person refuses to listen to the wisdom of others and the Church. " If he neglect to hear the Church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican." 18:17

We might say that the current Church in many places ignores this whole area of discipline. There is the devotion of the Church---the Creeds & Confessions of Faith. There is the Doctrine of the Church- the 39 articles and the Catechism & there is the Discipline of the Church . Every family has this. Love without boundaries is not love. We have the choice to be a Church that believe the teaching of Jesus on this or one that just picks and chooses parts of the Bible that they like alone. There are too many that do that. That is not the way to do things in the spirit of Christ.

Earlier in this Gospel was about dealing with conflict one on one. If I have a struggle with another person's words then I must go to them and " tell him his fault, between you and him alone." 18:15 ST Augustine in commenting on this says , " If someone has done you injury and you have suffered, what should be done?....If you fail to do so ( go to him alone and tell him his fault), you are worse than he is. He has done someone harm, and by doing harm he has stricken himself with a grievous wound. Will you then completely disregard your brother's wound?..." Ancient Commentary, p. 76

There are more steps in this process. 2 or 3 witnesses, the church . You get the point. We are told by our Lord that ," whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven..." 18:18

I can hear the objections. Modern people are opposed to rules and laws. We read the Ten Commandments and our response is , " Lord have mercy upon us and incline our hearts to keep this law." The ten commandments are part of the moral law which is for all time, not to be abrograted until we see the end of the world. Every society must have rules and ideas that bind them together. Some churches ignore this. They ignore doctrine and devotion that is Biblical too I would imagine. This is not just an accident.

We have a Church government. We have presbyters, (pastors) and other Presbters that form a Session and a Presbtery that we should obey if they do not conflict with God's law in the Scriptures. There is form and order in the Church as in any organization. It is not do as we please. Of course we can, but then we will find ourselves of out of conformity to the law and love of Christ Himself. For ex. to ignore Sunday worship, His day is such an example of that. We are not to ignore His rest. The rest of the Commandments are also for us today. Jesus repeated them in the nt if we wish to dispute this point.

The  message today is the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant in 18:21-35. He was forgiven in today's amount about 12 million dollars. He then would not forgive the debt of the one who owed him less than fifteen dollars! Jesus then adds, " So shall my Heavenly Father also do unto you , if ye forgive not every one his brother from your hearts." 18:35

It was Peter who asked the question about forgiveness. The point is that there is not a limit on this. God's forgiveness was shown to us, and we must show it to all who change, repent, and ask for forgiveness. It does hurt when we are wronged, but it hurts more if we harbor an unforgiving spirit .  We pray it every day or we should at least, " The Lord's Prayer"---Forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who  trespass against us.

Forgiveness may be a process for us. It does take time and prayer to realize we must forgive others for their faults. " The society of the forgiven has no meaning if those who are forgiven are themselves unforgiving." vs. 21-22

Conclusion-  " It is not strange that Jesus concluded His parable by telling us of the rebuke the King administered to the heartless debtor He had forgiven; and ' how He was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due'.  Then he added impressively,' So shall My Heavenly Father do unto you. if ye forgive not every one his brother from your hearts.' Surely the forgiveness of God cannot be claimed or enjoyed by those who are un-willing to forgive their fellow men; but in view of the grace of God revealed to us in our Saviour, we should remember the words of the apostle, ' Be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, even as God also in Christ forgave you.' " Charles Erdman in The Gospel of Matthew.